Jon David Caminez, of Jefferson County, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, at Shands Hospital. He was born in New York City on Sept. 22, 1941.
Jon Caminez earned both his Bachelor’s degree and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and was an avid Tar Heels fan (along with the Atlanta Braves).
Jon Caminez was a trial attorney, who started his private practice in North Florida in 1972, and began specializing in personal injury work in 1974. He was passionate about his work and a zealous advocate for his clients during his 45-years of practice. Mr. Caminez has tried more than 300 jury trials and was in the first class of Board Certified Civil Trial attorneys, who were given their certificate in 1983. He is also the first Baker Act Hearing Examiner and was awarded Citizen of the Year for his work in that field.
Jon Caminez was a longstanding member of the Florida Justice Association, formerly known as The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Association for Justice, formerly known as the American Trial Lawyers Association. He was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court, and all Circuit Courts in the State of Florida. Jon was a Board Certified Trial Lawyer, having been certified in the first class of lawyers to be certified in the State of Florida.
He was preceded in death by his parents, David and Louise Caminez; in-laws, Clifton Martin Baxley and Muriel Marie Mullis Baxley; nephew, David Martin Baxley; grandchildren, Christopher and James Bentley; and brother-in-law, Dr. Ronald Baxley.
Jon is survived by his wife, Linda Baxley Caminez, of Monticello; his children: Steven Caminez (Yanyan) of Fremont Ca., Sam Armstrong (Candace), of Birmingham, Al., April Bentley (Jim), of Tallahassee, and Shannon Brown, of Madison; his sister, Bette Kroening (Manifred), of Berkeley, Ca.; his grandchildren, to whom he was known as “Papa”: Addison and Anna Armstrong, of Birmingham, Al., Christian and Emma Bentley, of Tallahassee, and Jonathan Caminez, of Fremont, Ca.; his niece: Lucie Kroening, of Paris, France, Teresa Miller (Bruce) and their children, Tiffany, Lauren and Andrew of Leesburg, Ga., Cathy Baxley, of Leesburg, Ga.; Bobby (Landra) Baxley, of Leesburg, Ga., Pearlie and Annette Mack and Kamon Gentle, of Monticello.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., on Thursday, Sept. 29, at First United Methodist Church of Monticello, with burial to follow at 3 p.m., at Crown Hill Cemetery, in Albany, Ga.
Susie Mozolic of Bevis Funeral Home is assisting the family with their arrangements, www.bevisfh.com or (850) 385-2193.